The present invention relates generally to paddle or sculling propulsion systems for fishing boats. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved foot operated paddle assembly for flat-bottomed fishing boats. It is believed that the invention is properly classified in U.S. class 115, subclass 125.
The present device comprises an improvement of the foot-operated boat paddle invented by my father, F.L. Stolzer, and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,850, issued July 2, 1963, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a variety of pedal-driven boat paddle devices exist in the prior art. The propulsion device proposed by d'Elloy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,703 (issued Oct. 12, 1982), comprises a pair of cooperating vertically-oriented paddles operatively associated with a pedal mechanism adapted to be attached to a small raft. The mechanical paddle drive includes a pair of guide rudders for manually guiding the craft.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,522, issued to Clark on Aug. 1, 1972 generally suggests the desirability of providing a pedal-powered boat drive mechanism with a drive shaft comprising cooperating clutches for propelling the boat in both a forward backward direction.
Other prior art known to me comprises U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,323,352; 4,345,903; 3,467,049; 4,172,426; 4,231,309; 3,056,977; 3,038,435.
None of the prior art devices known to me provides adequately stabilized means for dYnamically securing the paddle assembly to the boat. No adequate means are suggested in the prior art which permit the paddle to smoothly ride over unseen submerged objects, such as tree stumps, fence posts, or the like. Frequently, therefore, the paddle will become damaged, broken, or dislodged from its mount when it strikes such an object. Other prior art pedal-driven paddle devices I have studied do not satisfactorily permit the seated user to conveniently manipulate the paddles to effectuate forward and backward propulsion.
The paddle invention of the previous patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,850, fails to suggest adequate recoil means for limiting tilt of the paddle relative to the boat. The teachings of the patent fail to include any suggestion as to the desirability of providing a mechanism for facilitating automatic return of the paddle to its normally vertical, upright orientation after the paddle recoils. The prior art device disclosed therein forced the user to rise from a seated, driving position and balance upon the hull of the boat to restore the paddle to its operative position after recoil. Moreover, such manual adjustment of the paddle required substantial physical strength. Further disadvantages of the previous device include inadequate stabilization during operation and noise produced during paddling.